School Culture and Change

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School Culture and Change: An Examination of the Effects of School Culture on the Process of Change Elizabeth R. Hinde Arizona State University West Abstract School culture is a pervasive element of schools, yet it is elusive and difficult to define. Understanding school culture is an essential factor in any reform initiative. Any type of change introduced to schools is often met with resistance and is doomed to failure as a result of the reform being counter to this nebulous, yet allencompassing facet – school culture. This article defines culture as it applies to schools and examines the effects of school culture on teachers and schools in general. Underlying assumptions held by school personnel that articulate the culture of schools is also examined. The reasons for change to be accepted or rejected are also discussed. Introduction There is an old saying among anthropologists that fish would be the last creatures to discover water (Kluckholn, 1949, as cited in Finnan, 2000) even though it is the most ubiquitous and influential aspect of a fish’s existence. So it is with school culture and teaching. Just as water surrounds and envelopes fish shaping their perspectives and determining their courses of action, culture surrounds and envelopes teachers forming their perspectives and influencing their decisions and actions. Teachers work within a cultural context that influences every aspect of their pedagogy, yet this pervasive element of schools is elusive and difficult to define. Culture influences all aspects of schools, including such things as how the staff dresses (Peterson & Deal, 1998), what staff talk about in the teachers’ lounge (Kottler, 1997), how teachers decorate their classrooms, their emphasis on certain aspects of the curriculum, and teachers’ willingness to change (Hargreaves, 1997b). As Donahoe (1997) states, “If culture changes, everything changes”

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